Claiming his Wife
by Steffili
Summary: Peter is in a bad mood and there's only one thing that could help him ease up: His wife Alicia. But it's not so simple anymore betweeen them that he can just walk up to her door and claim her. Or is it? -M rated for sex but much more going on here as well :p Also getting softer and fluffier in the progress.
1. Chapter 1

This is what my mind coughed up after re-watching season 1+2. And reading disturbing fanfiction. Dark and even a bit angsty, and that coming from me that's more into the romantic smut...Also M for language and sex. So this is completely different from what I normally write - so let me know what you think.

Still don't own Good Wife. *sigh*

* * *

He checked the clock on his desk. It was after 10 PM and he was still at the office. How pathetic was that? But then again it wasn't like he had a life to get back to. Well not an overly appealing one. The kids were at Alicia's for it was a weekday so all that waited for him was a big empty house and a cold and lonely bed. He felt frustrated as he ran his fingers through his hair, he felt tense and in a bad mood. Also he could use a good fuck now.

Oddly, this made him think back of the time when he had gone to see Madison on such occasions, only this time he didn't think of the other woman at all. His one and only desire was for the one woman he obviously couldn't really have anymore: His wife. Well granted, they'd had sex sometimes lately but always at her demand, she was always the one coming up to him these days. He'd gone with it because it was still better than not having her at all. But it was days like these when he just wanted to go over to her place for a change and just grab her and take her against the nearest wall.

The irony wasn't lost on him because in the past he'd not desired her like that. She'd been pure and sweet and it had been out of the question to go home to his loving and innocent wife and just fuck her senseless, without having to talk to her first or even have some kind of foreplay. So he chose to go to a hooker for that, for a quick and easy outlet of his lust, the darkness in him that he didn't dare show to the woman he loved. And with that hurting her so much more than he'd ever thought possible.

But she'd changed in the meantime, and he suspected he was the reason for that change. She was so much stronger now, but also harder and more distant from her feelings, of course that was his fault, he'd hurt her so much that she'd had to steal herself in order not to break. But oddly enough now he wanted her more than ever before.

For a time he'd thought he'd lost her for good, though he had never stopped loving her. He woke up every morning and silently hoped that by some miracle she would be sleeping by his side, but she never was. The best thing he got these days was her calling him and asking if he was home and that she would be coming over. They'd have sex and then she'd smile contentedly, kissing him goodbye and then get up and left him. Leaving him back empty and alone.

He groaned. This was not helping him at all. He stared at his phone, willing it to ring, willing it to be one of these nights where she'd call him up and make herself available to him for at least a little while. The thought alone got him hard right away, making him curse and lean back in his office chair in desperation. He needed her. And if she wasn't coming to him, he needed to go to her instead. He'd go over to her apartment and knock on the door and the second she'd open, he'd push her inside, kissing her forcefully, not letting her back away from him. He was convinced she wouldn't once he'd pressed her up against the wall and having his hands up her shirt. She would feel his need and wouldn't deny him, he just wouldn't let her.

He flinched at his own thoughts, wow, he really was in a bad mood because in his mind he was just about to force himself on her like some dirty perverted monster. Like he could ever hurt her - well obviously he had before - but not like that. Never like that. He loved her so much, but his desperation was getting the better of him. The thought of going over to her place and her shutting the door in his face was too much for him to take. Also his plan had one big flaw, the kids where over there. He coulnd't just barge in like he'd just imagined and freaking fuck her in the hallway because one of his kids could walk in on them any time. What was wrong with him? He decided he needed to approach this in a different way. He took out his phone and composed a new text message. "Need you to be at my place in one hour." He hit send and put the phone in his pocket, then left the office and started his way home.

He came home 45 minutes later. He took off his suit jacket and shoes and walked into the living room, pouring himself a drink, swallowing it in one and refilling his glass and taking it back into the kitchen. He checked the fridge for something to eat but didn't find anything that appealed to him, then again he wasn't really hungry. He was just impatient. He really hoped she was coming. She hadn't texted back so maybe she hadn't even gotten his text in the first place. Or maybe she had seen it all right but had just laughed and put her phone away again. He emptied his drink again but decided not to go for another refill. He was already in a too dark mood, he didn't need to deepen that any further. But who was he fooling anyway? She wouldn't come over just like that, that's not how they worked. He was just about to get up and go up to his bedroom when there was a knock on the door. Making him flinch violently and instantly hard again. She was really here!

He went over to the door with long quick strides, opened it and just grabbed her by one wrist, pulling her inside and slamming her up against the door.  
"Peter, what..?" she was beginning to say but didn't get any further because then his lips where shutting off all her words with a hungry kiss, his hands starting to search their way inside her coat. He felt that her body was tense and her hands were at his chest, not really pushing him away yet but more as if she was undecided what she wanted to do. He broke the kiss but remained close to her face, looking her directly in the eyes and told her:

"This is "what", so if that's not ok you should better leave again now while I still have the strength to actually let you."

His voice was dark and almost a little threatening he had to admit, but he couldn't sugarcoat it.

She held his gaze and just remained standing where she was, her eyes narrowing a little as if she was thinking hard about what she should do. Then she just moved her head forward a little and kissed him passionately, her hands starting to unbutton his shirt. He let out his breath he realized he'd been holding and started clawing at her clothing, desperately needing to feel her naked skin. She moaned as his hands found her naked breasts, he kneaded them in his hands and bend down to suck her hard peaks for a short time before returning to her face, still kissing her with a deep hunger, his teeth nipping on her lips and his tongue thrusting inside her mouth hard.

She had found the zipper of his pants and pushed them down so his erection was freed, she had on some nice high heels again which was perfect for him because that brought her up to just the right height. He hitched up her skirt and pushed her damp panties aside and thrust into her without even checking if she was ready for him. He just knew she'd be, and well enough he slid in effortlessly and was rewarded with a loud moan from her. He started pumping into her hard, lifting one of her legs and circling it around his hips to get him better access. He used one hand to steady her and the other one to brace himself against the door. He kept on thrusting deeply like this until he felt his climax building, not even caring if she was there just yet. He came with a loud moan and while he was spending himself completely inside her she also started to let out a series of high-pitched cries, indicating she'd come too.

They remained like this for just a little while, then he gently set down her leg and pulled out of her, taking half a step back and pulling up his pants, then starting to button up his shirt that had hung open around his shoulders. She also righted her clothing, pulling down her skirt and moving her bra back into the right position, then also closing the buttons of her blouse. They looked at each other and she smiled at him.

"So, what was that about?" she asked him.  
He just looked at her and didn't know what to say to her. He should feel better now, his orgasm having taken the point off of his frustration but if anything he felt even worse. He couldn't even bring himself to really smile back at her like he meant it. And at the same time he just felt like going over to her, hugging and begging her never to leave him again. He just shook his head and turned around to go into the living room, leaving her standing in the hall.

He heard her coming after him instantly, of course she would be doing that.  
"Peter, what's up with you? Did I do something wrong? I got your text and I wasn't really sure what was expecting me though I figured it might be sex. So that's ok. But now it seems like you're being angry with me?"  
He turned back around and looked at her ruffled exterior, her hair was messy and her lips a little swollen. He sighed in frustration. Of all the times they got together now she wanted to talk?

"It's ok Alicia. Thank you for coming over - I would have come to your apartment but I figured the performance I just gave you would be out of the question with the chance of the kids seeing us. And that's exactly what I needed from you tonight, so, thanks for that, and now you can go back home like you always do."

She furrowed her brows.

"What the hell Peter? Where is this coming from? When did you become like that, so cruel and mean? Calling me over here and fucking me and then throwing me back out? I'm not your little hooker, you know?"

She just gaped at him.

He let out a cruel laugh as her words sank in, shaking his head.

"Well you've been behaving a lot like one for the last couple of weeks. Because that's basically what you've been doing, coming on to me for a quick and hurried number and then vanishing again."

She let out a startled groan in surprise and he could see that she was clearly angry now.

"Why would you even say something like this? Comparing me to her like that? Also I didn't hear you complaining much, you were always really eager to please as I recall."

He snorted.

"Yeah because that's all I ever got from you so I went along with it. That's all I ever got when all I wanted to do was hold you close and make love to you all night, have you by my side when I woke up in the morning. But no, you wouldn't give me that, do you know how bad that has made me feel lately?"

"YOU have been feeling bad? What about my feelings, Peter. What about me starting to feel so close to you again that it almost seems normal, but not being able to shake this really bad feeling that if I take one last step back into happiness, that there's going to be another coworker or hooker you slept with just around the next corner? Do you have any idea how that feels?"

He ran his hands through his hair.

"Oh what the hell Alicia, how often do I have to tell you that there wasn't another woman. You know I haven't been with one single woman after the scandal apart from you, I didn't even think about other women. All I wanted was you, I waited for you to make up your mind and come back to me, even while you were sleeping with Will."

She paled a little and her expression hardened.

"Of course. Bring up Will again, because he's to blame for everything that ever went wrong between us. You know at least he didn't lie to me like you did. I freaking asked you Peter, I asked you what it was exactly that I needed to forgive you for and you still didn't tell me about Kalinda. So how can I ever believe you after that, that there wasn't any other woman?"

Peter just shook his head, suddenly feeling very tired and ten years older. That's what it was all coming down to. She couldn't trust him anymore and he had no idea how to win back her trust. He thought he'd done a good job with that over the past months but obviously not.

He shook his head and he said with a resigned voice:

"Look, Alicia, I'm sorry. For what I did to you, I know I can never make it undone or take back the cruel things I said. I love you, I always have and I still do so much. I was a complete fool to hurt you like I did but I can't say any more than that I'm sorry. And if that's not enough, I don't know what else can be said and done. Just having casual sex obviously doesn't help either. And if that's all you're ever willing to give me, I guess it's time I move on. I can have the divorce papers ready by tomorrow if that's what you want."

She blinked at him, looking shocked and confused as his words sank in. She looked even paler now and almost beaten. He could see there were tears starting to form into her eyes. She turned away quickly, obviously not wanting him to see she was crying. She started walking out of the room and back into the hall and Peter was suddenly realizing, if he let her go now like this he might have lost her forever. And despite having just told her he was gonna serve her with the divorce papers he found himself unable to let go.

He went after her and held her back. She tried to free her arm and struggled against him, the first tears having already spilled out of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

"No Peter, let go of me, I said let go..."

She was beating at his chest with her free hand rather furiously but he just accepted that, pulling her close and hugging her tightly to his chest until he could feel her tense body easing up a little - when she started to cry and sob uncontrollably against him, soaking his shirt with her tears.

"Sh Babe, it's ok, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I don't want to divorce you, how could I when I still love you so much."

She buried her face against him and just kept on crying but he felt she was already calming down a little.

"I don't want you to divorce me either" she said in between sobs.

He smiled into her hair a little.

"Ok, then I won't."

They remained standing like that, even when she had finally stopped crying.

"So what are we going to do now, Peter?" she asked him.

"I don't know. I really don't. Maybe we should just go to sleep for now. I'm exhausted, and I know you are too. And I would like for you not to drive home now in your upset state. So if you must go home I'll call you a cab. But you can stay here of course if you want to, I'll even sleep on the couch."

She looked at him.

"I can't Peter, the kids..."

"What did you tell them where you were going? Another late night at work?" he asked her.

"They were already asleep so I left them a note that there had been a work emergency and that I'd be back soon, and that they'd reach me on my mobile if anything was up." she looked ashamed for lying to the kids like that.

"It's ok Peter, I can drive home. If I know that I'm not losing you completely, it's ok." she told him, her honest words making him go all soft inside.

He hugged her closely.

"You won't ever lose me, I promise." he told her and kissed her softly.

She freed herself out of his embrace after some time and went back to the entrance door, where her coat was still lying discarded on the floor. She picked it up and put it on, turning around to face him and gave him a small, almost shy smile.

"So, why don't you come over Friday evening for family dinner. We can have some time with the kids and then afterwards maybe really talk about us. And by that I mean not angry fighting like just now but really talking. Now that we've established we both don't want to get divorced. It must be possible to figure something out, right?"

He nodded.

"That sounds like a good idea. So, Good Night Alicia, drive safely and call me when you get home. I won't go to sleep until you do." he told her.

She giggled.

"Ok, then I will."

She hugged him one last time and kissed him gently, then left.

Peter stood in the hall for some time just contemplating the past hour. Maybe he was not losing his wife after all. Maybe there was a chance she would be all his soon again.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Still M rated for language later on. Because they are gonna talk it out all right but it won't be pretty. But first up some family fun and fluff to take a breath...

* * *

Alicia and the kids were in the kitchen, preparing dinner. She had decided to actually really cook something instead of getting take out, feeling that the occasion was well worth the effort. Well actually she had wanted to cook something fancy but the kids had suggested they make pizza. They'd been very happy she had invited their Dad over and offered to help, even Zach was cutting vegetables while they all talked about their day.

When the doorbell rang, Alicia went to open and there was Peter standing in front of her, smiling warmly. He stepped inside and leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, then went by her, hanging his coat by the door and then went into the kitchen followed by Alicia. The kids greeted their father warmly and then went back to their assigned cooking tasks. He looked at them and nodded approvingly.

"So I see, you're helping Mum cook, that's very nice of you. Can I do something?"

Alicia had returned to her spot and smiled at him.

"No that's ok Peter, we got this. Why don't you pour us a glass of wine and just tell us how your day has been?"

He went to get some wine glasses, they were in a cupboard over Alicia's head so he stepped up closely behind her and leaned over her to get them, resting his left hand on her hip, more to keep her still in order for her not to knock the glasses out of his hand than anything else but she still felt the touch, innocent as it was. He stepped away again and Alicia took a deep breath, calming her nerve. She was unsure about what the evening would bring later for they had agreed to talk, but that didn't mean she had to freak out already. She would just relax and enjoy the family dinner and worry about the rest later.

Peter handed her a glass of red wine and she took a sip, enjoying the taste and smiling approvingly. Then she went back to the stove again where she had prepared the baking trays with the pizza dough and spread the tomato sauce evenly on the two trays.  
"Ok, everybody done with cutting up their ingredients? So then let's spread them out so we can get the pizza in the oven soon."  
They prepared everything, topped it off with cheese and then Alicia put the trays into the pre-heated oven.

The evening went by pretty well, Alicia leaned back in her chair contentedly, drinking her wine and just observing her family, how easygoing it all was like this with Peter and the kids. It felt natural and good, it made her feel happy. Peter looked at her from across the table, his gaze resting on hers, giving her a warm smile. She got up from the table.

"Anyone up for dessert now? I have ice cream." she said and was rewarded with sounds of approval from the kids.

Peter made a move to get up as well.

"Do you need any help?"

She rested a hand on his shoulder upon passing him by, giving him another warm smile.

"No Peter, it's ok really. Just sit, I'll be back with dessert any second."

She gave his shoulder a soft squeeze, then went into the kitchen.

They ate dessert and talked some more, then they cleaned up the kitchen, the kids again being really helpful as Alicia noticed with a grin. They normally helped her all right, but only if she told them to. But they were really happy that their father was here, so they wanted to stay in his company as long as they could. She couldn't blame them exactly because she felt the same way about him, it really had been a nice evening and she somehow wished it wouldn't have to end so soon. Well, the nice part that was, because they still had the talking part left and she had a vague idea that wasn't probably going to go over as nicely as the rest of the evening had.

"So, Mum, wouldn't it be cool if Dad stayed over the night so we can all have family breakfast together." Grace said suddenly, tearing her out of her thoughts.

"Uhm, what?" she said more from reflex because she had heard her daughter all right.

She looked at Peter who's facial expression was mirroring hers, a mix of shock and disbelief crossing his features and then raising one eyebrow questioningly at her, grinning slightly.

Grace chimed in again.

"Oh please Mum, he can stay in the guest bedroom, it's not a big deal, is it? Pleassseee." she said.

Alicia had to grin now too. Leave it to the kids to make seemingly complicated things so easy.

"Yeah well, I guess that's ok by me, if your father wants to." she said and looked at him pointedly, being happy to drop the ball into is court.

He grinned now broadly.

"Well in that case, ok. But only if I'm getting pancakes." he said, Alicia rolling her eyes at him.

"Yes Peter, I will make pancakes for us." she said, laughing.

"Yeay" Grace said, "Ok, I'm going to bed now. Night Mum and Dad, see you tomorrow."

She hugged her father and then made her exit towards her room.

Zach had just finished stacking the dishwasher.

"Cool." he just said and nodded towards his farther and also started walking towards his room.

"Night Mum, Night Dad," he said and was out of sight.

* * *

Alicia and Peter looked at each other and both simultaneously started laughing.

"Kids." Peter just said, shaking his head.

"I know." Alicia agreed.

"You know, if it's not ok with you after all I can still go home later and we tell them something has come up for me at work and I was gonna pick them up later tomorrow."

He told her, being earnest again.

She smiled at him, appreciating the fact that he was trying to be considerate about their situation.

"It's really ok, Peter. Well, I hope it will still be later. But hey, you can always really stay in the guest bedroom if our talk won't be so successful."

He nodded at her solemnly.

"I promise, I will. So, should we talk then?"

She nodded.

"So, where do we start?" she asked him.

He took her hand and led her into the living room and from there heading into her bedroom. She followed him a little reluctantly and looked at him questioningly when he let go of her hand inside her bedroom, shutting the door silently behind them.

"Don't worry. I just thought we need a little privacy for this, because it's maybe not something the kids should hear."

he explained and Alicia sighed a little in relief.

Peter chuckled lightly.

"I understand that what happened two nights ago when I called you over to the house cannot happen again until we've talked this out. So you really don't have to worry."

She nodded.

"I wasn't exactly worried. Just wondering...you are right it's probably best we do this in here. So, two nights ago. What was that all about? You had me a little scared there, I can't recall you ever being so...violent. It's not that the sex was bad or hurt me, not at all, but still, you were so distant and cold and not at all yourself."

He took a deep breath.

"Yes, I know. And I'm aware you don't know that side of me, because it's the side I always kept hidden from you, well I tried to do that as best as possible."

She looked at him with her brows furrowed.

"I don't understand? What do you mean by that?"

He sighed.

"Well I used to work much and sometimes I'd get frustrated and just felt like...letting off some steam. And by that I mean...well sex. And not gentle and slow lovemaking either. But...well rather like it was two nights ago."

Alicia gasped, not sure what she should say to that.

"I loved you and you were my gentle and sweet wife, and it felt like it was out of the question to show that side to you, so at first when I felt like this I'd just stay really late at the office, then would come home when I was sure you'd already be in bed and take care of my problem alone in the shower. It sounds so wrong even now admitting that to you but I've told you I'm done with lying to you so, you have a right to hear this."

She nodded, gritting her teeth, looking away to some distant point, then suddenly her eyes met his again.

"So when jacking off in the shower didn't cut it anymore you thought you'd try out some hookers?"

Her tone was flat and nearly emotionless, but the pain in her eyes was evident.

"Actually to be honest, the first time something happened was Kalinda. No, please hear me out, it really wasn't her fault. I helped her out with her new identity and hiding her from her violent husband. We had a drink together when it was all done. She just happened to be there, and she didn't even really enjoy it I guess, she just...was there. The thing with Madison started over a year later."

A single tear slid down her cheek as she listened to him.

"God, Alicia, should I stop? Do you want me to go? I don't want this to hurt you so badly all over again."

he told her and she could see he was about to come over to her and hug her but she lifted her hand in a gesture that told him not to come near her.

She just stood there, about to cry, not saying anything.

"You're scaring me here. Can you please say something?" he told her gently.

"I just don't know what to say to that Peter. I mean, you know for the first time it actually starts to make some sort of sense. Thinking about all these nights when I finally went to bed alone, not thinking much about it because I knew you were always so busy at work. But feeling so lonely and just wishing for you to come home and make love to me. And to know that now, that I was actually waiting for you like that while you went to have sex with another woman..."

her voice broke and she really started crying now.

He started pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair.

"I'm so sorry Babe. But you were so much weaker back then and just so innocent. How could you have handled me being towards you like I was two nights ago?"

She looked at him and gave a dismissive snort.

"I don't know Peter. You should have just come to me and told me. Told me that the sex we had wasn't enough for you and that you'd maybe wanted to try something different, like say, fuck me hard while standing up."

He gasped at her in shock.

"That's not what this is about Alicia, you have to believe me. Please don't think for one second that I didn't always enjoy sleeping with you, because I did. It really wasn't about you at all, that's the point I'm trying to make. I didn't think right, didn't think what I was doing to you by having sex with other women. If I'd really stopped to think about you, I could never have done it. I was so stupid and selfish, a total bastard for hurting you like this. But please don't try to load any guilt on your shoulders for that."

She took a deep breath and shook her head.

"Well, but I did. After I found out about the scandal all I ever thought was that I wasn't enough for you, that you were bored with me and didn't feel any desire for me anymore. That hurt me so much and it took me very long to get over it."

She told him.

"So that's where Will comes into play." he offered gently, not accusing her of anything.

She thought about what to say to that.

"I guess so. I know you were always suspecting I was sleeping with him back when you were under house arrest but that really wasn't the case."

He interrupted her.

"I know, it was stupid of me to think that, I was just so jealous because I felt like maybe I had lost you. I read the statement you had to give Wendy Scott-Carr in the Will investigation, and I know you'd never lie under oath, so yeah I know the timeline by now."

She nodded.

"I figured you'd read it and I hated the thought so much. I'm not exactly proud of the affair either but then again it really helped me heal in some way. Will is in so many things the complete opposite of you, also a part of me always wondered if we could have been right for each other. Well we were for this seven months. But then we weren't anymore so I started to realize that I had to end it with him. Also I really just allowed myself this affair because I had really thought I couldn't forgive you anymore. That we were over, and I wanted the thing with Will to help me forget about you. But it didn't work, obviously."

He smiled tensely at her.

"I will say this only once and never admit to it again afterwards, but I'm glad, almost thankful that he obviously helped you get over most of your pain and with that evening the way for me. I will always hate the thought of him in bed with you but I guess it's only fair I live with that to always remind me about what I put you through." he told her honestly.

She looked at him sceptically.

"So you're saying that makes us even?" she asked him.

He shook his head.

"No of course not. You can't keep scores on something like that. I'm just saying I'm over it. We don't even have to speak about Will anymore from here on out. I would rather move on with you and not look back, and I'm ready to do so. Are you ready to do that, too?"

She nodded.

"I think I am Peter, but I'm also a little scared. But I want to try."

He came over to her then, hugging her tightly to her, burying his face in her hair."

"That's all I can ever ask of you, so thank you. I promise I won't waste my chance this time. It was the worst time of my life when you moved me out of the apartment after I was re-elected State's Attorney, I felt so desperate because I had lost you. I won't be so stupid again, I promise."

She sighed contentedly as all her tension started to dissolve in his warm embrace. So they really were doing this.

She took a step back, winding herself out of his arms.

"So we could just start by doing more family activities. We get to spend more time together also the kids get used to seeing us happy together once again. This way it won't be a total surprise once we tell them we are trying to get back together. Also, maybe we should stop sneaking around and lying to them." she said.

Peter nodded and smiled at her.

"That sounds good to me. And I agree on the being more honest part. Well, on that note, I should go to bed now."

He went over to her and kissed her gently, then turned around to leave.

"Peter, wait." she said.

He turned around and looked at her questioningly.

"Can you just stay here and hold me tonight?"

His smile widened and he went back over to her and kissed her again.

"Ok, I will. But what are we going to tell the kids?"

"Well, if they really actually ask us, we can always tell them the truth, it wouldn't maybe be the best timing but they would understand I guess. I just need to feel you close to me now."

He still smiled lovingly at her and embraced her again.

"Come here." he told her. "I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Ok, this story has me a little helpless. It was intended to be some smutty stuff based on a book I read and out of a very dark, hurting mindset of mine. And now it's suddenly turning into a sweet and fluffy family story. Lol. But I will just keep on writing and see where it takes me. So stay tuned, there will some chapter soon be some smut again, tho I will be really sweet I guess.

* * *

Peter&Alicia

She awoke the next morning, feeling a hard male body pressed up against her, causing her to smile. It was so strange, they'd been having sex quite often over the last months but only on one occasion had he actually spent the night because they had just fallen asleep, with the kids coming close to discovering them. Granted it had been nice because they'd had sweet morning sex before Peter had finally left 10 minutes before she'd met the kids in the kitchen.

So last night there had been no sex but still she felt more relaxed and happy than she had in a long time. She sighed because it was time to get up, so she turned around in his embrace, placing a soft kiss on his lips, causing him to wake up.

"Hey," he said sleepily.

She kissed him again gently.

"It's time to get up, I fear. The earlier we're up, the less the chance that the kids find out about us." she reminded him.

He hugged her close to him again, then let go off her and turned around, sitting up on his side of the bed with his back turned towards her. He turned back around towards her and told her, smiling:  
"I'll go and have a shower quickly if you don't mind. You can go and start breakfast in the meantime and then I'll join you."

She nodded at him.

"Ok, sounds good." she told him and crawled over to him, hugging him from behind and placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

Peter turned around a little in her embrace and kissed her gently on the lips, then peeled himself out from her embrace once more and got up from the bed, smiling, and walking towards the bathroom.

Alicia remained in bed for some more minutes, listening to Peter starting the shower next door, pictures of him naked forming in her mind. She cursed herself mentally, if she didn't get up now and go to the kitchen she'd probably join him in the shower and she felt that it would maybe not be the best thing to do at this time.

She groaned and got up, put on her robe and went out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, preparing the coffee maker and collecting the ingredients for the pancakes.

Soon afterwards Peter came in and she handed him a cup of coffee, smiling at him warmly. He took the hot beverage and then stepped aside again and let her go back to work on the pancakes. He watched her for some time, just smiling at her.

She looked over to him.

"What?" she asked.

He shook his head lightly and grinned. He set his cup down and went over to her, hugging her from behind and pressing a soft kiss to her neck.

"Nothing. It's just so good to be here in the morning like that, just being able to watch you cook me breakfast. Really really nice." he whispered into her ear and nibbled at it playfully, making Alicia giggle.

"Peter, stop it. The kids will be up anytime." she scolded him with a playful tone.

He grinned and let go of her reluctantly, going back over to where he had been standing before, picking up his cup of coffee again and went back to watching her.

Zach&Grace  
  
Zach walked towards the kitchen and came to an instant halt before going in. He couldn't believe his eyes: There were his parents in a tight embrace, whispering and laughing together. He silently retreated back in the direction of his room before they saw him, though they were really busy with each other it seemed. He grinned at that, it was actually a little sweet. He had no idea what it meant, but maybe they would be getting back together.

At this moment his sister came out of her room.

"Hey Zach, is breakfast ready?" she said with a grin.

"Uhm, not exactly." he said. Grace went by him and started making her way towards the kitchen.

"Grace, wait, come here a second." he told her and went into her room, signaling her to follow him."

She furrowed her brow.

"What?" she asked him when they were in her room with the door shut behind them.

"I just kind of walked in on Mum and Dad when they were kissing. Well not really kissing, but Dad was hugging Mum and they were whispering and laughing together."

"No way!" Grace exclaimed.

"If I tell you so. That's how I found them. They didn't see me though."

"So what does that mean?" Grace wanted to know.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, maybe they are really getting back together? I mean, it's the official campaign version for the public that they are working on reconciling, so I don't know maybe they really do?" Zach offered.

"But why didn't they tell us?" Grace wanted to know.

"I don't know. Maybe it's a recent thing. I mean, they have been more friendly towards each other over the last weeks. So maybe it's just a really slow progress."

"Yeah but still...hey, what do you think, did he sleep in the guest bedroom at all?"

Grace asked with her eyes widened.

Zach grinned.

"I don't know. Maybe he did, maybe not."

"So, what do we do now? Do we ask them about if they are getting back together or not?" she wanted to know.

"No, I don't think we should. I think, we should just act like we don't suspect a thing and let them come to terms with themselves. I'm sure they will tell us what's up once they've figured it out."

Grace nodded.

"Ok. But maybe we could try to get them into more family activities, and watch them closely." Grace suggested with a big grin.

Zach shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess that won't do any harm. But try not to be overly obvious, ok? Just keep it cool." he told her.

The Family  
  
When the kids showed up in the kitchen, breakfast was as good as ready, with a huge pile of pancakes in the oven for warm-keeping.

"Morning Dad, morning Mum." the kids greeted their parents.

"Hey you two." Peter said.

"Breakfast is almost ready, sit down." Alicia told them.

They were all sitting around the kitchen island, not bothering to go for the table, all enjoying the pancakes.

"Tastes really good, Babe." Peter commented, smiling brightly at Alicia.

Grace's eyes widened and she looked at her brother, then back at her plate, then over to her Dad.

"I know, aren't Mum's pancakes the best? You just need to have breakfast with us more often, I'm sure she will make them any time then, right Mum?"

Alicia grinned.

"Oh come on you sound as if I'm feeding you dry bread and water for breakfast when your father's not here, which is not true."

She looked over at Peter.

"I swear, it's not true, I'm taking great care of your kids even when you're not around." she said jokingly, and they all laughed.

"So, what are we going to do today, Dad?" Zach wanted to know.

Peter shrugged his shoulders.

"What do you want to do?"

"Can we go bowling?" Zach asked.

"Yes, sure, why not. Bowling it is." Peter said.

"Oh yeay, Mum, do you want to come along?" Grace asked.

Alicia choked on her piece of pancake she had in her mouth. She coughed and swallowed it, then coughed some more.

"Uhm, me? No, I'm not talented at it. Also you have me all week round, you should enjoy some time out with your Dad. Also I need to do some household stuff that I can do best when I have the apartment to myself, so you go ahead and enjoy the day with your Dad."

Alicia told them, she needed to maintain her space, as much as she had liked sleeping in Peters arms last night. She would take the day alone to think about what it all meant and what they should do next.

But Grace, being her daughter and obviously having inherited her stubbornness, wouldn't give up  
so easily.

"Well you could do the household stuff and then we go bowling in the afternoon. And after that we all have dinner together at the house and a movie afterwards." she said.

Alicia gasped, feeling slightly backed into a corner, but at the same time enjoying the thought of spending the rest of the day like her daughter had just described it. Being with Peter and the kids for the most part of a whole day. Wasn't that what they had said they'd try to do, spending more time together as a family?

Peter smiled at her warmly.

"If you're up for it I would gladly have you." he told her, looking into her eyes directly, making her feel a weird flutter in her stomach. They didn't see the kids exchanging meaningful glances because they were still looking at each other.

She sighed, but smiled happily.

"Ok then. Why don't you go on over to Dad's place and I'll finish my work here and meet up with you later?"

"Awsoeme." Grace said cheerily. The kids rushed to their rooms to get their things for the weekend, giving Alicia and Peter a moment of privacy.

"So, family dinner again, the second day in a row? I really like that." Peter said to her, smiling warmly.

She nooded.

"Yes, I actually like that, too." she told him.

"If it gets too much for you though and you need more space again, let me know and I'll think of something to make it work so the kids don't think it's your fault."

She shook her head.

"No Peter, it's really ok. So, I'll see you later?" He nodded and went over to her, giving her a quick kiss to the lips. Then stepped away again and smiled at her gently.

"Ok kids, I'm ready to go if you are." he called out.

* * *

Ok, so how was that for the family stuff? Anybody up for next chapter, movie night? Also please leave me moivie suggestions, I have no clue what they could be watching :p  
**  
**


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Ok, sorry this took so long but it was hard to find a movie that would work with what I intended to do.  
Also this one is especially dedicated to Josie :p For giving me a really hard time about the movie thing.

* * *

They came home after bowling, the kids and Peter still laughing about how ridiculously bad Alicia had been. Peter carried in 2 big, streaming boxes of pizza with a bowl of salad on top, placing it on the coffee table, sending the kids off to the kitchen to get them plates and something to drink.

"You want some wine?" he asked Alicia.

She nodded.

"Yes, thank you, red please." she answered.

"I know, I think I even have a bottle of your favourite." he winked and went to get it for her.

They sat down to eat, the children on the armchairs off to the side, leaving Alicia and Peter to sit on the couch. They ate the pizza while Zach was scrolling through available movies on Netflix.

"What are we watching?" Alicia wanted to know.

Peter shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, I think the kids should just pick something. But remember, nothing scary for your Mum, because she can't stand the horror stuff. And please something age appropriate for Grace, so no Zombie stuff either please, Zach."

"Dad, I'm not a little baby anymore." Grace protested.

Zach sighed and kept on scrolling through the movie list.

"Aww Snow White and the Huntsman" Grace suddenly squealed.

Zach rolled his eyes.

"Really? That's with that chick from Twilight. That's not cool."

"Yeah well, like some guy shooting movie would be better." Grace said.

"Kids, can't you please not argue over this? Or I'm picking a movie." Peter said.

Alicia chuckled.

"Well Snow White sounds good to me. Is this something we can agree on? Zach?" Alicia wanted to know.

Zach sighed.

"Yeah ok well. But Grace, you better not tell anyone I watched that, I'll be dead if it comes out. And next time I'll get to pick the movie."

She nodded.

"Yeah ok, I promise. So can we watch now?"

While they were watching and Snow White fled into the Dark Woods, Alicia gasped, a little scared by the dark imagery. She looked over at Peter, who turned his head at exactly that moment and looked at her. He saw that she was a little scared and smiled, shaking his head lightly and indicating that she move over to him by extending his arm. She hesitated for a second but then just gave in and moved over, cuddling up to him and letting him put his arm around her. She remained where she was for the rest of the movie because it just felt warm and comfortable to rest against him like that.

The movie credits started rolling, and Alicia sighed, a little sad the movie was over. She was well aware that she was closely snuggled up to Peter with the kids in the room but she just couldn't bring herself to let go of him yet.

"Well, that was a nice movie, a little darker than the original fairytale though. Those woods were really scary," she said.

Grace laughed at her.

"Oh Mum, really, that wasn't scary at all!" she said.

"Well cut your mother some slack, Grace. You know how she dislikes even the slightest hint of scary stuff in movies. Oh the many times I took her to the cinema back when we were first dating and she was sooo scared. It was adorable." he said, grinning down at Alicia who was still tucked into his side closely.

"Haha yeah obviously you really liked that because you tricked me into going to some horror movies twice by telling me it was something romantic. That was not fair!" she scolded him, and they all laughed.

Alicia stretched a little and yawned.

"It's getting rather late, I'm tired." she said.

Zach and Grace looked at each other, then nodded.

"Yes, we're tired to, we're going to bed now." Grace said.

"Yeah and I'm going to watch a really good movie now on my laptop not such crap like this."

"Zach! " Alicia exclaimed.

"Uhm, sorry Mum. Good Night Mom and Dad." He said and made his way into his room.

"Night. " Grace said and also went, leaving her parents to themselves.

They remained like they were for some more, just silently enjoying to be so closely in contact. Innocent as it was, it just felt so good.

"So, should I show you the way to your bedroom?" he asked her after some time.

She looked up at him.

"You mean as in opposed to the master bedroom?"

He grinned and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Yes, like that. Remember, we said no pressure, so I'm willing to give you as much space as you need."

She giggled.

"Do I seem like I need much space at the moment? Also we just said we wanted to spend some family time with the kids and not have meaningless rough sex anymore. There was never a mention of separate bedrooms." she said.

He laughed.

"I like that very much. Ok, so let's move upstairs, shall we?"

"Hmnhmnn." she mumbled into his shirt approvingly, but not really moving.

He started shifting and repositioned her, so he had her tucked into his arms, then got up and lifted her in the process, carrying her up the stairs and into the bedroom. She didn't object at all, just cuddling up as close as possible.

He set her down within the bedroom and smiled at her.

"Do you need a shower? Also I have an extra toothbrush for you." he said.

She smiled back.

"No to the shower, yes to the toothbrush."

He nodded.

"Ok, so you go ahead in the bathroom, I'll take my turn once you're done. You'll find anything you need in there."

Peter quickly undressed while she was away, putting on some pyjama pants and a T-Shirt, also putting one of his T-Shirts on the bed to wear for her.

She came out soon afterwards and he went to the bathroom, giving Alicia time to take in her surroundings. She saw the shirt he had laid out on the bed for her obviously and smiled, took off her clothes with exception of her panties and the much to big shirt on, breathing in the scent, a little disappointed it was freshly laundered and not already worn by him.

She crawled under the covers at what used to be her side of the bed, taking a deep breath and smiling to herself. The second night in a row she'd spend with Peter, her husband. The thought sent a light shiver through her. She hadn't really thought about him as her husband in a long time, at least not in the context of sex or sharing a bed.

Peter came into the room again, breaking her out of her musings.  
He went to the far side of the bed and climbed in beside her, pulling her close to him. She enjoyed his warm body being pressed to her back, but somehow had the deep feeling that it wasn't enough, that she wanted him even closer, she wanted more.

She turned around in his embrace and brought them face to face, looking him deeply in the eyes. It was relatively dark in the room but she could still make out his features and that he was also looking at her, smiling gently. She leaned in the last separating inches and kissed him, gently at first, then a little more hungry, feeling him smiling into the kiss. She pulled away a little.

"What's so funny?" she asked with her deep and flirty voice.

He chuckled lightly.

"Nothing. I'm just enjoying that's all."

"Good." she said and kissed him again, letting her tongue run playfully along his lips, then sliding it into his mouth, deepening the kiss until they were both panting a little.

Peter rubbed her back gently.

"Are you sure this is ok for you? Not to sound judgmental but you had 2 rather big glasses of wine and I don't want to take advantage of you and then have you wake up tomorrow and regret anything. But I want to make love to you now so desperately, so if that's not ok with you, please tell me and I'll just let you sleep."

She looked him deeply in the eyes again.

"I'm not drunk, Peter. And I appreciate you trying to be the good guy here, you have no idea how much. But I need you now, as close as possible and I swear I won't regret anything. And I surely don't want to sleep now." she told him in a way that didn't leave any room for doubts.

He rolled them over so he was on top of her, kissing her passionately, making her sigh in appreciation. He started kissing a trail down to her ear, gently sucking on the sensitive spot behind it, making her shudder lightly and her arms break out in goosebumps. He worked his way downwards to her collarbone, where the hem of the shirt began. He pulled away enough to grab the shirt and pull it off her, then wanted to start up kissing her again.

"Peter, stop." she whispered.

His eyes shot up to her face worriedly, but she just grinned at him. He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"Take off your clothes as well." she told him.

He nodded and obliged happily, also removing her panties in the process, then coming back to her and covering her with his whole body.

She sighed contently at the feeling of skin on skin all over.

"Better?" he asked.

She just nodded and pulled him down for another searing kiss.

After staying on her mouth for a little longer he went back to kissing down her throat, alternately gently nipping her skin and soothing over it with his tongue afterwards. She just lay there with her eyes closed and enjoyed the feeling, though he was progressing so slowly it almost felt like torture. She let out a little moan when his tongue finally made contact with one of her nipples, little ripples of pleasure shooting through her whole body. He took his time to pay thorough attention to first one then the other hard peak, until she was panting and shifting on the bed.

He stroked down her body with one hand, finding that she was already soaking wet. He took up some of the moisture with his fingers and rubbed her clit, increasing the pressure at her moaning. He teased her a little by circling her entrance but not actually penetrating her with his fingers. She shifted and sighed impatiently.

"Peter, please." she panted.

He chuckled against the skin of her belly.

"Already begging though I haven't even really started? Oh Babe. But then again, as you said please..." he let his words trail off and pushed his index and middle finger deeply inside her, causing her to cry out in pleasure.

"Sh, Babe, you have to be quiet. The kids might still be awake." he warned her but all the while moved his fingers in and out of her, rubbing his thumb over her clit in the progress.

She whimpered softly, shifting her hips in rhythm with his movement. He curled his fingers up a little so he hit her G-spot with every stroke feeling that she was getting close to an orgasm. He pulled his fingers out of her then, making her gasp in protest.

"Peter. Why'd you stop? I was so close." she whined.

"As if I didn't know that." he said, grinning.

"What? That's mean, how can you..." he effectively interrupted her ranting by pushing his fingers back inside and moving them in and out again at a quick pace. This time not stopping when he felt she was close but rubbing her until he felt her insides contracting around his fingers, only pulling away when she was starting to relax under his touch.

She sighed contentedly and smiled at him.  
He came back to kiss her hungrily on the lips, his erection against her stomach reminding her of the fact that this had only been the first round. She reached down between them and rubbed his hardness, causing him to flinch and let out a low moan. She coated her fingers in her own wetness and spread it over his cock, making him arch his back and press himself more into her hand.

After some time he pulled back and repositioned himself, kissing her deeply and spreading her legs a little wider. Then he pushed inside her with one fluid stroke, bracing himself on his elbows for better support and started to move in and out of her.

Alicia wrapped her arms around him and gripped his shoulders, whimpering in pleasure. She just liked having him on top of her like that, fully in charge and so deep inside her. It just felt so good, she'd always liked sleeping with him and couldn't recall a time when she hadn't, so it wasn't that hard to start up having sex again. Tonight suddenly was the first time she felt that deeper connection again that they used to have. Well, the first time she actually let herself feel it. She opened her eyes and looked at him, his eyes were closed, he was panting and a little perspiration was forming on his forehead. She liked the sight of him being aroused and the fact that she could make him so, that he desired and loved her like that after all the time.

She repositioned her legs and shifted her hips a little to give him even better access, her next orgasm starting to build at the extra deep penetration her repositioning was giving her. She started to sigh and pant, Peter was close as well so he picked up his pace, thrusting inside her deeply and pulling out in quick succession. They reached their climax at the same time, both moaning and sighing and shifting their hips until they were completely spent.

"I love you." Alicia whispered softly.

Peter looked at her in surprise then leaned in an kissed her sweetly. He pulled out of her and rolled them around so he was on his back with her cuddled up to his side. He pressed a gentle kiss to her hair and pulled her close to him.

"I love you too." he said.

* * *

Ok what did you think. So the rough outline including the ending is already on my mind. And it's continuing to be the mix of sweet and smut that it already is. So let me know your thoughts and wishes :p


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry the update took so long. I've been working 8AM-11PM lately, so not much time for writing.  
So this one is all fluff again. Don't worry, the drama is coming up next chapter again.

* * *

Alicia groaned. She was glad to be awake for she had just had an awful dream. She'd dreamt Peter told her he wanted to divorce her and marry Amber Madison instead, because he'd been still seeing her on the side all the time and he just came to the conclusion he loved the other woman more. She shook her head, where had that come from? Well you didn't exactly need to be Freud to know. That was her subconsciousness trying to warn her to be careful because she was just starting to completely let Peter in again.

Things were really looking great and deep down inside she still feared that another scandal was right around the corner. She turned around and looked at Peter who was still soundly asleep next to her, his face relaxed and peaceful. She knew that he really had changed and that he wouldn't betray her again like he had before, but it looked like it would still take much more time until she was completely healed. She sighed and shook her head as if she wanted to shake the bad dream out of her head for good. She cuddled up to Peter who sighed sleepily and put an arm around her to draw her close. She inhaled his scent and smiled at the warmth that was beginning to spread through her whole body - and her mind as well. She placed a soft kiss to his shoulder where her head had come to rest. Peter started stirring and the hand he'd placed on her back started lazily drawing circles on her skin.

"Everything ok?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Yes, all good, go back to sleep." she told him.

He started slowly kissing a trail down her neck, she instinctively arched her head back to give him better access.

"Hmn so much better than sleep." he whispered and gently nibbled her earlobe.

She sighed, he had a point there. Also it was really nice after her bad dream that he wanted her even though he was still half asleep. So she didn't object to him rolling them over so he was on top of her once more, kissing her lips gently and without hurry. She let her eyes fall shut, just enjoying the feeling of being so close to him, the dream and the bad feelings it had brought draining away more and more with every kiss and touch from him.

* * *

They ended up spending the whole Sunday together. In the afternoon Alicia said goodbye to Peter, they hadn't talked with the kids about their newly developing relationship so they couldn't come up with a good excuse to spend another evening or night together. Also the kids had to go to school and Alicia and Peter had to work again in the morning.

After dinner the kids headed to their rooms and Alicia cleaned up the kitchen, then went to sit in the living room and watch a little TV. She browsed through the channels, not really finding something particular she could watch.  
A little later Grace came over to sit with her mother. Alicia hugged her daughter, smiling.

"That was a really nice family weekend. We should do this more often." Grace told her.

Alicia nodded.

"Yes, it was very nice spending time with all of you."

Grace nodded and cuddled up to her mother again, silently watching TV along with her for a while.

"So, are you and Dad getting back together?" she finally asked.

Alicia tensed a little.

"Am I and your Dad...?"

"Zach saw you kissing in the kitchen yesterday" Grace blurted out.

"We... I...oh. Well, we didn't know he saw us." she said, completely caught off guard, then sat a little more upright.

"So it's true? You're getting back together? Why didn't you tell us?"

Alicia sighed and smiled at her daughter.

"Well, let's say we've decided to try to work it out and part of us trying to do that is spending more time around each other, and not just as a couple but also with you kids as a family. We didn't tell you yet because this is pretty recent and new for us and we didn't want to confuse you in case it will turn out we can't make it work again between us."

Grace looked at her wide-eyed.

"So, does this mean we are moving back in with Dad at the house?"

Alicia shrugged her shoulder.

"Your father and me haven't discussed that yet. I don't know. Maybe. But I don't know when. It might not happen right away."

"But Mum, I don't understand. Either you are getting back together or not? Also you're still married, so why not move back in together already? We could be a real family again!"

Alicia kissed her daughter softly on the head.

"I know, and I really want us to be a family again. But it's not that easy. We have to think and talk about how we do this properly and about the consequences. Just give it a little time ok? And be prepared to see your father and me together more often in the meantime."

Grace grinned at her now.

"You mean, seeing you kissing?"

Alicia laughed softly.

"Yes, that could happen I guess."

* * *

Later that evening Alicia was in bed, tossing and turning. Her bedroom felt so cold and empty, her bed lonely without Peter by her side as she had to admit to herself. How ridiculous was that? After spending 2 nights in his arms she felt so alone now because he wasn't here? She groaned in frustration for feeling like some teenager in love. She fought the urge to pick up the phone and call him to tell him she needed him over here. After ten more minutes she gave up and grabbed the phone, dialing his number. He answered after 2 rings.

"Alicia?" he greeted her.

She smiled at the sound of his voice.

"Yes, it's me. Hi. I hope I didn't wake you?" she wanted to know.

"No, I'm in bed but not really asleep." he told her, she heard from the tone of his voice that he was smiling, too.

"Yeah, same here. I just...I thought I might be able to sleep after hearing your voice again. I hope that doesn't sound too silly."

He chuckled lightly.

"Oh Babe, I've been tossing in my empty and cold bed over here and thinking about you and more than once was about to pick up the phone and call you, but I didn't want to risk waking you." he confessed.

She giggled.

"Oh Peter, what's wrong with us?"

"Well I'd say nothing much. Well nothing that can't be fixed easily."

She heard strange, ruffling noises in the background.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"What do you think? I'm getting dressed and then I'll come over. I'll be there as soon as I can, ok?"

She felt some kind of warm relief wash through her.

"Yes, ok, I'll wait for you."

"Good. I love you Alicia."

"I love you, too, Peter."

And as she put down the phone she realized how true that was.

* * *

She must have drifted off into a light sleep because seemingly a short time later Peter came into the bedroom, setting down a duffel bag next to the door and taking off his shoes and jacket.  
"Hey Babe." he said and walked over to her while unbuttoning his shirt. He bend down and kissed her gently, then stepped back again and continued undressing. He came into bed beside her and she turned towards him and went into his embrace without hesitation. They kissed slowly for a while, then Peter broke the kiss and grinned at her.

"Ok, I'm here now, and it's nearly 2 AM. So you can go to sleep now, you need to work tomorrow."

She raised one eyebrow at him.

"But you need to work, too."

He nodded.

"Don't worry about it. I took the liberty to bring some clothes with me so I won't have to go home again before going to work. And also don't worry about the kids. I can hide in here until they leave for school, or maybe we should just tell them."

Alicia smiled and shook her head.

"You know, I actually already told Grace earlier."

He gaped at her, then a slow grin spread on his face.

"You did? How'd she take it?"

Alicia shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess she's happy. She asked if we'd move back in together."

Peter kissed her gently.

"Will we? Move in together?" he asked.

Alicia smiled.

"Can we just sleep now and discuss this another time?"

Peter nodded.

"You're right. Let's sleep. Night Babe."

* * *

She awoke in his arms again. The third day in a row. She sighed and smiled happily, inhaling his scent then moving a little so she could reach up and kiss him on the lips. He awoke and smiled at her.

"Hey Babe, Good Morning. And what a nice way to wake up, too." he said.

She smiled back at him.

"I just couldn't resist. Thank you for coming over last night, I didn't sleep long but very well."

He yawned.

"Yeah, this is going to be a long and hard day. Do we have to get up already?" he asked her.

She smiled.

"I think we have to if we don't want to be late for work. Well I can't be late, I don't know about you Mr. State's Attorney."

"Come here." he told her and pulled her in for a passionate kiss that lasted until they finally had to break apart for air, both a little panting.

She pulled away from him and got out of bed, looking back at him over her shoulder.

"If you want to keep that up, at least let's get into the shower so we don't waste too much time." she said in her flirty voice, then disappeared into the bathroom.

* * *

25 minutes later they sat freshly showered and fully dressed in the kitchen, drinking coffee while Alicia was preparing breakfast for the kids that were to show up any minute.

"So, how will we explain my being here?" Peter asked.

In that exact moment Zach came into the kitchen, stopping in his tracks.

"Dad? What are you doing here? Everything ok?" he asked.

Peter winced and Alicia actually smiled a little.

"Hey Zach. Everything is ok. Just having coffee with your Mum."

At that moment Grace came in.

"Dad! What are you doing here?" she asked, then looked at her mother and back over to him.

"Wait, did you sleep here?"

Alicia grinned a little then decided to came to Peter's rescue.

"Yes Grace, your father slept here, he came by late after you were already asleep." she offered.

"I take it your mother told you yesterday that we were working out stuff between us and that you should expect to see more of me around here." Peter cut in.

Grace nodded.

"Yes she did."

Zach smiled.

"'That's cool."

"So do you have any questions?" Peter asked.

"If you're going to sleep over every night, wouldn't it be easier to move in together right away?"

Grace asked.

Alicia looked to the floor, not sure how to respond.

"Well Grace, it's not that simple and needs a little planning ahead. It's a little more complicated than just starting to pack boxes. But we're on a good path so maybe it won't take so much longer." Peter told her, smiling reassuringly at his wife.

Alicia smiled back at him, then went over to him and put an arm around his waist, looking at the kids again.

"Your father is right. We love you, and we've decided to really be a family again. So just give us some more time to figure out the logistics, for example where we will live, the house or here or maybe even a completely different place. Then we'll decide on the when. In the meantime we want to spend as much time together with you kids."


	6. Chapter 6

AN: This chapter is set a little further along timeline wise. Also it really gave me a hard time writing because I wanted this to be more dark and evil again but came out mostly fluff. With a little angsty stuff. Also the ideas kept changing while writing, so this is what I made of it. I hope you liked this story and I hope it makes sense to you. I'm closing it now and move on to new projects :-)

* * *

Peter was working late. It didn't happen so often anymore these days because finally he had something to look forward to when coming home. His family. His kids and a loving wife. Alicia had finally taken the plunge and had moved back in with him in the house, making him so incredibly happy that he couldn't wait to get home on most days.

But today it just seemed he couldn't find an end with so much work to do. He cursed when he checked the time, damn, it was after 9PM and he hadn't even bothered to call Alicia and tell her he'd not be home for dinner. Where was his phone, anyway? He dug through the heaps of paperwork on his desk, locating his phone. And sure enough there were two missed calls and a new text message. One call at 7:30 PM and one at nearly 8PM, both from Alicia. And the text message, also from her, inquiring about when he'd be home. He cursed lowly, damn, he hadn't even noticed the time passing he had been so caught up in his work. And he wasn't done by far, also feeling really annoyed and stressed out by his work. He sighed and decided to call her anyway to give her a heads up, even though he couldn't go home just yet.

"Peter, what's up, where are you? I thought we were going to have dinner?"

she said in accusatory tone. He groaned. Yeah, that's what he needed after a shitty day.

"I got held up at work. Complicated case that made me completely forgot time. And still no end in sight, so I'll probably be at the office one or two hours more, so you don't have to wait up, ok?"

He heard her sigh and starting to say something, but then she didn't.

"Ok, thank's for the call." she then said and the line went dead.

He hung up and threw the phone back on his desk, running his hands through his hair, suddenly feeling even worse. What was wrong with him? After just basically forgetting his wife for the better part of the evening while she was at home and waiting for him, he suddenly was feeling pissed at her? Like him working late was her fault? He had to go home and apologize to her. It didn't really matter if he got this all done today or tomorrow if it meant hurting Alicia. He got up and picked up his phone and jacket.

"Ok thanks for the call." she said and hung up the phone quickly because of the tears that were suddenly threatening to fall. She was pretty sure she was just imagining this. But he had sounded so cold. Also what could possibly hold him in the office for so long when yesterday everything had seemed just fine? The first tear fell from her eyes, burning a hot trail down her cheek. She was glad the kids where in their room so she went to the bedroom and shut the door behind her and let herself fall on the bed.

She started sobbing uncontrollably. What would she do if he really was with another woman right now? How could she ever survive it? She tried to get a grip, she was sure she was just imagining it, but then again, what if not? The thought alone hurt her so badly, she was so much in love with him again by now, maybe even more than before the scandal first hit.

So what if he really decided to leave her for another woman, maybe a younger one? She just remained there, crying for some time. Every time her sobbing died down again her rapidly turning thoughts would produce new hurtful images, making her cry all over again. She buried her head deeper into the pillows, not able to pull away yet from the grief and the pain.

"Alicia?"

She sat up with a start. Oh damn. He was here. She started to frantically wipe away the tears.

"Alicia?"

He was coming up the stairs. She quickly blew her nose and put the tissue in her pocket. The bedroom door flew open.

"Here you are." he said, then stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her.

"What's wrong? Have you been crying?" he asked her.

She felt too miserable to even hide it from him.

"Did you do it Peter, did you sleep with a hooker again tonight?" she asked him, new tears welling up again.

His expression went from scared to blank and then to plain shock. Did she really think that just because he'd been late for dinner?

"What? No! Why would you even...? Oh God, no Alicia, I swear."

He went over to her and pulled her into his arms, letting her cry and stroking her back.

"Shh Babe, please don't cry. I'm so sorry that I was so thoughtless today. It really was nothing but work. My most recent case turned out to be more trouble than I thought and so much more work. I wanted to be done with it quickly so I could come home and spend the evening with you. So I went to work and completely lost track of time. I'm sorry if I let you believe something else. The sound of my phone was off and it was covered deeply in my paperwork so I didn't get your calls or message. Please believe me. There are no other women anymore, I promise. I love only you."

Her crying died down gradually and he loosened his grip around her, then took a step back and held her by her upper arms. She didn't look at him but to the ground.

"Hey, look at me." he told her.

She shook his hands off and turned away from him, shaking her head.

"I feel so stupid right now. I just...you were so distant over the phone and I thought..." her voice trailed off.

He turned her back around and she finally looked at him.

"It's ok. I'm the one that was stupid. I love you so much Alicia and I shouldn't have just kept you waiting like that. But you have to start to trust me again Babe and not just assume the worst every time I get so engrossed in my work that I forget to call you."

"I know that, Peter. But it's so hard. Harder than I thought it would be. It's just...things have been so good lately and my subconsciousness just seems to wait for something bad to happen. I mean I've been trying to convince myself earlier that it was nothing, but even the slightest chance..." she shook her head again, her voice trailing off. He pulled her close again and kissed her gently. She accepted it and kissed him back, he sighed and smiled into the kiss, feeling relief wash over him. He had been very scared when he had entered the room and found her crying, terrified really.

He hugged her to him and placed soft kisses to her hair.

"It's ok Honey, and thank you for sharing this with me, for letting me know that this still bothers you so much. Because that means I need to be more open with you and try to give you less cause to worry. I promise I'll try even harder. I love you."  
He embraced her and started kissing her gently, walking her over to the bed, fully intending on making it up to her.

* * *

2 weeks later it was one of these days again. Where everything just seemed to go wrong at work and was so annoying to him. At least this time he had called Alicia in time and told her that he would be late and for her please not to worry this time. She had laughed on the phone and told him she was ok.

Now 3 hours later finally there was an end in sight. He checked for the time, it was nearly 10PM. He sighed and tried to shake this feeling of frustration and being wound to tightly. All he needed now was a drink and a hard fuck. He winced as he had to think back at a conversation he'd had with Alicia not too long ago, about her accusing him of taking his angry lust out on a prostitute while she was home waiting for him.

So was that really what he needed to do now, going home to her and just drag her to the bedroom and take her hard? The thought alone sent a little shiver down his spine. Ironically, back then he really never even considered to use Alicia like that. But now he did, and vividly so, his mind projecting all kind of dirty images, making him instantly hard and ready to go. He decided he needed to at least try. Go home to Alicia and hoped she would get the urgent need he was feeling and that she was the only one by now he wanted to help him out.

* * *

As he came up in the driveway at nearly 11 PM the house was bathed in darkness. Well, the kids had school tomorrow so they were probably already asleep or at least retired to their rooms for the night. He went inside silently, not bothering to turn on the lights. He hung his coat and checked the living room - dark and empty.

He went right up the stairs and saw light under the bedroom door. He smiled wickedly to himself. It seemed he was lucky, Alicia was already in there but obviously still awake, so right where he needed her to be. He entered the bedroom but stopped in his tracks because the bedside light was on but she was no where to be seen - the bed still made. Then he heard water running and couldn't believe his dumb luck, also he was instantly rock hard at the thought of her naked and wet in the shower. He started stripping out of his clothes quickly and effectively and entered the bathroom. It was warm and damp in the room and she was still in the shower so he didn't hesitate and stepped in behind her under the warm spray, hugging her from behind and pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

"Hey Babe." he said and let his hands roam freely over her body, then took one step forwards, pushing her a little and getting her off balance so she had to brace her hands against the wall.

"Peter, what...?" she asked then let out a low moan as he rubbed one hand between her legs, pressing down on her clit.

"Shh Babe, don't talk and just let me fuck you." he said and turned her around so she was facing him, her expression wide-eyed and a little shocked but equally aroused.

He kissed her passionately and cut off any reply effectively. He took up one of her legs and put it around him, then lifted her by the ass and sunk his erection into her with one single thrust, making her gasp into the kiss. He started moving in and out of her quickly and without restraint. He needed this now so badly and it appeared to him suddenly how lucky he was, that she was indeed just like that willing and ready for him. How she always had been since things had started to get better between them again.

First it had been only on her terms but as they grew closer and he'd made a move on her she'd never even once turned him down. His thoughts derailed him a little and he wanted to stop suddenly, the instinct to dry her off and then take her to bed and make slow love to her all night getting almost painful inside of him.

Alicia groaned and dug her nails into his back.

"Peter, don't stop now, I'm so close." she whimpered, sensing his sudden reluctancy. That sent a fresh wave of hot arousal through him, it seemed after all he wasn't the only one who needed it badly. So he complied and drove into her deeply again, making her come hard instantly, silencing her little cries of pleasure with a passionate kiss.

He pulled out of her still fully erect, her coming so quickly a litte surprising and not giving him time to follow her instantly. But he didn't mind so much anymore, which made him smile lightly to himself because hadn't that been all that hab been on his mind when he entered the shower, a quick and hard release for him?

Alicia looked at him and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Everything ok with you Peter? What's so funny? Do you want me to..." she looked pointedly down on his hardness.

He pulled her close again and kissed her, turning her so she was back under the spray of warm water.

"You know, honestly, all I wanted when I came in here was exactly that - you taking quick care of me. But oddly enough I find myself wanting so much more now."

She nodded at him.

"Well as I told you before I think I can match myself better to your needs than you gave me credit for. So I'm fine with doing it either way. Slow and gentle or quick and hard."

He grinned at her.

"I love you so much Alicia. And I think I'll opt for slow and gentle now." he told her.

"Very good choice." she said and turned off the water behind them, stepping in closer and kissing him gently.


End file.
